The following story contains details which may not be suitable for all readers.

* The names of some women have been changed.

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Trevis Smith was in Las Vegas this past May with his longtime girlfriend Amanda* when he asked to borrow her cellphone.

Amanda, a Vancouver-area woman, gave him the phone and thought nothing of it at the time. It was her birthday, and she was on yet another vacation with the man she loved.

They enjoyed their four-day holiday before she flew back to Vancouver and Smith to Regina.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker had told Amanda many times that he loved her during their three-year relationship, and would occasionally bring up the subject of marriage.

“If I ever told him I was feeling sad, he’d hop on a flight (from Regina) and be with me,” Amanda said by telephone in a series of exclusive interviews with the Saskatchewan News Network. Like other women in this article, Amanda agreed to speak on condition her real name was not used.

“When he’d come out to see me, my mom and I would cook for him — stew, meat pies, spicy kebabs. We’d spend the whole day cooking, buying balloons, baking a cake. I went all out for this man.”

When she got home to Vancouver from Vegas in late-May, Amanda noticed a strange Saskatchewan phone number and a text message addressed to a woman, sent at the same time Trevis had borrowed her phone.

She called the number immediately. The Regina woman on the other end of the line told Amanda she was also involved with Smith. The woman, who declined an interview request, also told Amanda in that same conversation this May that Smith was HIV-positive.

Amanda was overcome with panic and rushed to a doctor for a blood test. They’d been having sex regularly since Smith first flew her out to Regina in 2002. He made multiple trips to Vancouver. In December 2004, they spent a romantic week in Puerto Vallarta. And there was her birthday with him in Vegas.

Early in the relationship, she asked Smith to wear a condom during sex and he did. After about a year, Amanda said he convinced her no condoms were necessary.

“I asked him to (wear a condom). He told me, ‘No, no, no, no — there’s no one else. I’d never do anything to hurt you,’ ” she said, estimating they had sex more than 30 times without a condom.

A few sleepless nights later in late-May of this year, she was relieved to hear the test found no evidence of HIV.

“I am so lucky. By the grace of God, I’m OK. It’s a miracle,” she said.

When Amanda confronted Smith in a phone call that day, he denied having HIV. She didn’t believe him and broke off the relationship. Amanda spoke to police a few days later and gave a formal statement in early September of this year.

A week before Smith’s arrest in October 2005, he called Amanda.

“He pleaded with me, said he’d changed and I needed to forgive him,” she said.

She didn’t accept his apology. Later in the same conversation, Smith admitted to her he was HIV-positive, she said.

He called again a few days later to ask if she and her parents wanted tickets to an upcoming CFL game, and she declined.

The morning of his arrest, he sent her a text message on her cellphone, saying he wanted her to call. She didn’t.

Smith was flown to Surrey, B.C., on Oct. 27 to appear in court charged with aggravated sexual assault.

Canada’s Criminal Code allows for a charge of aggravated sexual assault if the complainant doesn’t know what is being consented to, and if the complainant’s life is endangered by the accused.

In addition to the charge, RCMP in B.C. issued a warning that Smith is HIV-positive. They advised anyone concerned about exposure to seek medical attention.

“You are also asked to contact police in relation to this investigation,” said the news release from the RCMP.

The next day, a Regina woman filed a complaint. A second charge of aggravated sexual assault was laid last month against Smith, this time in Regina.

Amanda said she had no idea Smith was HIV-positive at any point during their relationship. Looking back, she said there were ample clues Smith was seeing other women.

Smith told Amanda about his first daughter. But he said he wasn’t with the girl’s mother anymore, when in reality they had recently been married in Alabama.

Last year, she flew to Regina to surprise Smith for his birthday in August. She stood on his porch holding a cake she’d made, waiting for him to come home.

“He pulled up with (a Regina woman) in the car,” Amanda said.

Smith drove off quickly. When he returned alone, he said she was just a friend and needed a ride home. During other trips to Regina, Amanda and Smith went shopping or for drinks with another woman Smith described as a friend. She since learned Smith was also involved with these two women.

“He’s pretty gutsy, huh?” she said.

“But (when apart) he’d call me five times a day — where would he have the time for anyone else?”

Amanda’s description of her relationship with Smith is similar to that of the other women interviewed. They all fell in love with him, and Smith told them he felt the same way. At some point, the women said they agreed to let Smith stop wearing a condom during sex.

The relationships all ended with the realization that Smith was married or was dating other women.

Pam* began dating Smith in 2002 after a chance meeting at a Regina gas station.

“He almost hit me with his car. We laughed and he asked me for my number,” Pam said during an interview in the living room of her Regina duplex.

“He’d call me four or five times a day. We’d watch movies and hang out. He always made me laugh.”

In early 2003, they discussed their relationship. Both promised they were monogamous and had no sexually transmitted diseases. They agreed that no condom was necessary anymore and began to have unprotected sex.

“He said he loved me,” Pam said.

In March 2003, the normally healthy woman developed a severe flu-like illness. It hurt to bathe or lay too long in bed. She was extremely nauseous and her gums bled.

Pam’s temperature spiked at more than 42 Celsius for several days.

In hindsight, Pam believes this was the “sero-conversion” illness that can come within a few weeks of contracting HIV.

They broke up in October 2003 after she called Smith’s house and his wife answered. Pam began asking around, and said she soon found there were other women besides her and Smith’s wife in the picture.

“I found out he was sleeping with numerous women, so I went to get tested for STDs (sexually transmitted diseases),” she said. She got her results back Nov. 5, 2003 — she was infected with HIV.

When her results came back positive, she notified those involved in the other six relationships she’d had over the past four years. None tested positive for HIV, she said.

She also called Smith at this time.

“That was the last time we spoke,” she said.

“He tried to call but I blocked it and then changed my number.”

She called Regina police to file a complaint against Smith. No charges have been laid in her case.

It’s unclear when Smith contracted HIV or how long he’s known.

According to an Oct. 31 statement by Roughriders chair Graham Barker, Regina police told the team a year ago about the “probability” of charges against Smith. The team asked Smith to get tested for HIV at the time and the result was positive, Barker said.

HIV affects everyone differently. Some can live symptom-free for years while others can quickly develop infections and other problems signalling the onset of AIDS.

Pam can’t work full time anymore. She sleeps 10 hours a night and has to take a series of pills for the rest of her life in an attempt to keep the virus at bay. She takes antidepressants and must see a psychologist regularly.

“The pills give me weird dreams. I’m usually very dizzy when I wake up,” she said.

This past December, depressed, ashamed and hopeless, Pam wrote a series of suicide notes. She stockpiled her grandmother’s insulin and planned to overdose on New Year’s Day, 2005.

“Hi honey. It’s mommy. I regret leaving you. I got sick and didn’t want to live that way. I didn’t want you to see me suffer. I decided to leave this life with what little dignity and pride I have left,” she wrote to her then five-year-old daughter.

In another letter, she wrote: “To mom and dad, I’m sorry for disappointing you. None of this is your fault. Please don’t be sad or mad at me. Make the most of your time together. I love you both very much.”

After talking with some friends New Year’s Eve, Pam changed her mind. She’s now determined to make the most of her life. In addition to her job, she speaks in schools and at conferences about the dangers of unprotected sex.

“Some days are really good now, but other days I wonder if I’ll live to see my daughter graduate from high school,” Pam said.

“When Trevis and I were together, he was kind and nice and always made my day better.

“But he’s a very good liar.”

That’s a sentiment shared by the other women interviewed.

“He tells each of us he’s the only one and he loves us. He was never mean or abusive to me,” said Bonnie*, a Regina woman he dated for more than a year after arriving in Regina in 1999.

Like Amanda and other women, Bonnie eventually agreed to sex without a condom.

“I thought I was in a relationship,” said Bonnie, who does not have HIV.

She got suspicious when she found a romantic letter in his bag from a woman in Alabama who signed it “your wife.” Smith said the marriage had been annulled, but the woman was still hung up on him.

Smith and Bonnie eventually broke up when she found him at his apartment with another woman. Smith had been seeing this woman when he claimed to be jogging, Bonnie said.

“That’s what it took to clue me in,” Bonnie said, shaking her head during the interview in a Regina coffee shop.

She heard rumours a year ago about Smith’s HIV and called him. He denied having HIV.

“If you cared about someone, you wouldn’t do these things to them. This is not our fault — he lied to us,” Bonnie said.

While dating Bonnie and apparently seeing another woman while out “jogging,” Smith met Carmen*.

During an interview in a Regina restaurant, Carmen also shook her head in disbelief when recalling her time with Smith.

For Christmas of 2001, Carmen had brought Smith to her parents’ farm in southern Saskatchewan. He told Carmen’s parents how much he loved her. When they opened presents, Smith gave Carmen a Bible with a loving, Christian inscription.

“That’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?” Carmen said.

By this time, they were living together. Smith had taken her to Alabama to meet his family. Like Amanda, Carmen believed she and Smith would be getting married.

In the spring of 2002, Smith went home to Alabama alone. In the weeks after he returned, Carmen “noticed a weird (Alabama) number on the phone bill” and called it.

The woman replied that she was Smith’s wife. The couple had married during Smith’s trip home that past month. And just days before Smith had enjoyed Christmas dinner with Carmen’s parents, the woman had given birth to the first of Smith’s two daughters in Alabama.

She broke up with Smith immediately. Then in September of 2004, police came to her workplace. They asked when she last had sex with Smith and if she’d been tested. She also lay awake several nights in a row “praying the phone didn’t ring” with bad news.

Carmen doesn’t have HIV, but is furious over the lies she said Smith told her.

“If he had given me HIV, I’d fuckin’ kill him.”

The stories of Carmen, Bonnie, Pam and Amanda stand in stark contrast to the glowing testimonials given by numerous Roughrider teammates, friends and coaches.

The public image of Trevis is that of a generous, polite and loyal man.

He was born in Montgomery, Ala. in August 1976. He played football for Robert E. Lee High School and was a key member of the school’s state championship team in his senior year.

“He was always in the sports crowd, never got into trouble. Hopefully he’ll come through this OK,” said former schoolmate Brian Blackmon.

Former Robert E. Lee coach Spence McCracken shared those sentiments about Smith. “He did a great job for me — he was a great kid,” McCracken said. “He didn’t say much, a real quiet guy. He led by example.”

Of all the players McCracken has coached in his 27-year career, he said Smith is in the top-10 for both ability and attitude. McCracken recalled one game when Smith, a linebacker, asked if he could kick the ball off. Place-kicking from his own 40-yard line, Smith booted the ball through the opponent’s uprights.

McCracken last saw Smith when Smith dropped by to say hello several years ago.

“You tell Trevis I love him and I want to talk to him,” McCracken said.

“I hated hearing (of the charges). I hope he ain’t guilty. I would trust him with my wife and kids.”

Smith went on to star for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. During Smith’s trip home to Alabama with Carmen, Smith showed her his hand print alongside the other immortalized football heroes on campus. Carmen said he took her to the stadium where he enjoyed the frequent cheers from the massive crowd, but lamented the fact his mother never came to a game.

When reached at her home in Alabama, Smith’s mother said people have been saying and writing “very sickening” things about her son.

“I’m through with it. That’s my child and I have no comment whatsoever. Everybody has rushed to judgment.”

No complaints have been filed against Smith in his hometown of Montgomery, said Montgomery police Lieut. Huey Thornton.

“We don’t have any type of ongoing investigation. The only information we have is what we’ve read in the media,” Thornton said.

Even if there were complaints similar to those in Canada, Thornton isn’t sure charges could be laid in Alabama.

After graduation, Smith was recruited to play for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the spring of 1999. He’s been a solid and consistent contributor. He’s the longest-serving American on the team. His contract expires in February, and it’s unclear whether the Roughriders will renew it.

“He was a good guy in the locker-room. He was a quiet guy, dependable,” said teammate Jeremy O’Day.

“He was our team barber. He was a good guy. He wasn’t a wild party guy at all,” said fellow Roughrider Daved Benefield.

“I have nothing negative to say about Trevis. He’s a good friend of mine. I support him,” said another teammate Andrew Greene.

All players interviewed said they’d have no hesitation playing with him should he be found not guilty. They note the risk of contracting HIV from a player on the field is infinitesimally small and there has never been a recorded case.

Smith has done a lot of volunteer work in Saskatchewan.

He served as a football coach for a Regina high school this fall. He always signs autographs for kids, even after the Roughriders lose.

He and friend Bryan Murray, who runs a aquatic training program for Smith and several other Roughriders, raised $4,000 in a fundraiser in the spring.

Murray’s mother is a breast cancer survivor, and Smith eagerly lent his name and time to the event for his friend.

“When (the charges) all broke, we played cards and I told him ‘You’ll get through it.’ ”

Murray said if the allegations are true, he can’t stay friends with Smith. But he’s confident Smith will come through this.

Smith also helps others in less public ways. When Smith badly injured his hip several years ago, a man from Saskatoon wrote to him. The man said his seven-year-old son also had a dislocated hip and asked Smith for advice on rehabilitation for his son.

Instead of a phone call or letter, Smith went to Saskatoon with Roughriders souvenirs in hand and spent the weekend with the family. He brought them to a game at Taylor Field and maintained a long friendship with them.

Smith has spent many weekends with the boy playing minigolf or other activities.

“He loved that boy, that family,” said Carmen, who accompanied Smith on a couple of the trips to Saskatoon.

Smith’s Regina lawyer, Paul Harasen, said Smith hopes to continue his football career once the charges are dealt with.

“He loves the game. He wants to play and get back to his teammates,” Harasen said.

“He’s doing very well — exercising, going to movies, seeing his bail supervisor.”

Harasen said Smith’s wife, who moved to Regina with the two girls several months ago, is “a very nice lady. They’ve stayed as level-headed and positive as they can be.”

When reached several times on his cellphone, Smith declined invitations to get together for an interview.

“I don’t read the papers, man. The media’s already said all they want to say. I’m not gonna talk until this is all over with,” Smith said.

Harasen neither confirmed nor denied Smith is HIV-positive. Smith has pleaded not guilty to the Vancouver charge and plans to plead not guilty Wednesday in Regina, Harasen said.

The judge-only trial in Vancouver is scheduled for next May, and a date has yet to be set in the Regina matter. If convicted, there is no minimum sentence, but the maximum is life imprisonment.

Harasen said there are four elements that the Crown needs to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

They have to prove Smith knew he had HIV, that he had sex with the complainants, that he didn’t disclose his status and that he didn’t use a condom.

Harasen is confident his client will be found not guilty.

“We never thought there should have been charges,” Harasen said. The women interviewed disagree.

“He thinks he’s done nothing wrong,” Amanda said from Vancouver.

“Yes, he’s a nice guy on the surface. But he hasn’t learned anything. If he can lie, he’ll lie.

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